faults found after purchase,scotland

stevefen23

Hi,we bought our house last friday,not a new build,around 30 years old,and we have noticed a few faults left from the previous owners.The shower switches on and off,the kitchen tap leaks onto the cupboard below and the hot water pressure is non existent.Does anybody know if they are liable to pay for these repairs? Currently waiting for solicitor to get back to me.Thanks,Steve

angrypirate

Suggest you google Caveat Emptor (unless you speak Latin?). In a nutshell, no.

artbaron

No, it's all on you as Tony Stark is fond of saying.

stevefen23

Thanks,looks like i better price a new kitchen tap!

Southend1

angrypirate wrote: »

Suggest you google Caveat Emptor (unless you speak Latin?). In a nutshell, no.

I read somewhere it's slightly different in Scotland?

stevefen23

Southend1 wrote: »

I read somewhere it's slightly different in Scotland?

My last letter from the solicitor said i had 7 days to report if the central heating was in full working order,nothing about other items.

Mickygg

A 30 year old house is never going to be perfect. A leaking tap!! I've bought a house and have a leaking roof in many places! Count yourself lucky.

stevefen23

Mickygg wrote: »

A 30 year old house is never going to be perfect. A leaking tap!! I've bought a house and have a leaking roof in many places! Count yourself lucky.

Yeah i understand that,i just thought they would have repaired it before selling,it must have been leaking when they were using it.If i have to pay for it myself then so be it,there could be worse problems than this.

rpc

You need to look at the offer you made. Vendor may have some liability, but you will have to act quickly.

If there is hot water, then it works. It does not have to work well, so tough. Leaking tap is so trivial the vendor wouldn't be liable for it.

The shower could be the vendor's problem but you have to put them on notice and get quotes for repair. There is a very limited period you can report faults and keep the vendor liable. There will also be a minimum limit (last I time I bought/sold, no claim could be raised for less than £200).

Speak to your solicitor, that's what you pay them for. You should have done that yesterday...

stevefen23

rpc wrote: »

You need to look at the offer you made. Vendor may have some liability, but you will have to act quickly.

If there is hot water, then it works. It does not have to work well, so tough. Leaking tap is so trivial the vendor wouldn't be liable for it.

The shower could be the vendor's problem but you have to put them on notice and get quotes for repair. There is a very limited period you can report faults and keep the vendor liable. There will also be a minimum limit (last I time I bought/sold, no claim could be raised for less than £200).

I emailed the solicitor sunday night.The tap isn't leaking in the sense that its dripping into the sink,it's leaking through the body and down the pipes below.It may be trivial but a new mixer tap and fitting would be close to £200,maybe more.A new fitted shower won't be cheap and at present doesn't seem safe to use.Don't feel i should be paying for this.

googler

You need to speak to the solicitor who acted for you. Typically these days, contracts for Scottish house purchases are written according to a set of Standard Clauses; these vary throughout the country. The typical set for Edinburgh & Glasgow reads;

"CENTRAL HEATING ETC.

(a) The Seller undertakes that any systems or appliances of a working nature (including central heating, water, drainage, electric and gas) forming part of the Property will be in working order commensurate with age as at the Date of Settlement.

(b) The Seller will make good any defect which prevents any system or appliance being in such order provided said defect is intimated in writing within 5 working days of settlement. Failing such intimation, the Purchaser will be deemed to be satisfied as to
the position.

(c) The Seller will only be responsible for carrying out any necessary repairs to put any system or appliance into such order and shall have no liability for any element of upgrading (except to the extent such upgrading is required to put any such system or
appliance into such order).

(d) The lack of any regular service or maintenance of any system or appliance or the fact that it may no longer comply with current installation regulations shall not, of itself, be deemed to be a defect.

(e) The Purchaser shall be entitled to execute any necessary repairs at the expense of the Seller without reference to the Seller or the Seller’s tradesmen (i) in the event of an emergency; (ii) in the event that the Seller’s tradesmen do not inspect the alleged
defects within 5 working days of intimation; or (iii) in the event that any necessary repairs are not carried out within 5 working days of inspection.

(f) The Seller confirms that he has received no notice or intimation from any third party that any system (or any part thereof) is in an unsafe or dangerous condition."


You should confirm with your solicitor what clause(s) similar to the above went into your contract. You also need to decide if the defects you cited fall into the category of 'systems' as defined in the clauses. You also need to consider whether the condition that they're in at the moment is 'commensurate with age'.

After all that, you need to figure out if you're still within the notice period, and if you are, get your sol to dash a fax or e-mail off to the seller's solicitor.